Welcome back, again!

Welcome back, again! • Please take the handout from the table and READ

the attached letter. Don’t lose it! • One-pager #2 is due Friday by 2. Make sure to fill

it out COMPLETELY and FOLLOW the directions on it! Incomplete one-pagers will only get PARTIAL credit. I don’t take late one-pagers and this is the only one I will take.

• We will begin our study of Much Ado About Nothing today. You will have your first SUMMATIVE quiz on Friday!

• Attendance will be vital. If you are absent, check the website for summaries and notes. You are responsible for getting yourself caught up!

Created 12/2009McComb


Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare


Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more, Men were deceivers ever, One foot in sea and one on shore, To one thing constant never: Then sigh not so, but let them go, And be you blithe and bonny, Converting all your sounds of woe Into Hey nonny, nonny. Sing no more ditties, sing no mo, Of dumps so dull and heavy; The fraud of men was ever so, Since summer first was leafy: Then sigh not so, but let them go,And be you blithe and bonny,Converting all your sounds of woe

Into hey, nonny nonny.

Constant: faithful

Mo: more

Blithe: joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful

Bonny: British Dialect. pleasingly; agreeably; very well; smiling; bright


Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more, Men were deceivers ever, One foot in sea and one on shore, To one thing constant never: Then sigh not so, but let them go, And be you blithe and bonny, Converting all your sounds of woe Into Hey nonny, nonny. Sing no more ditties, sing no mo, Of dumps so dull and heavy; The fraud of men was ever so, Since summer first was leafy: Then sigh not so, but let them go,And be you blithe and bonny,Converting all your sounds of woe

Into hey, nonny nonny.

Don’t cry anymore, ladies, don’t cry anymore Men have always been deceivers,One foot on a ship and one on the shore,Never devoted to anything.So don’t cry like that, just let them go And be happy and carefree forever,Turning all your sad sounds around When you sing “Hey, nonny nonny” instead.Don’t sing more sad songs About being down in the dumps For men have been committing this kind of fraud Ever since the first summer trees had leaves.So don’t cry like that, just let them go And be happy and carefree forever,Turning all your sad sounds around When you sing “Hey, nonny nonny” instead.


Leonato: A respected, well-to-do, elderly noble at whose home, in Messina, Italy, the action is set. Leonato is the father of Hero and the uncle of Beatrice. As governor of Messina, he is second in social power only to Don Pedro.


Beatrice: Leonato’s niece and Hero’s cousin. Beatrice is “a pleasant-spirited lady” with a very sharp tongue. She is generous and loving, but, like Benedick, continually mocks other people with elaborately tooled jokes and puns. She wages a war of wits against Benedick and often wins the battles. At the beginning, she appears content never to marry.


Hero: The beautiful young daughter of Leonato and the cousin of Beatrice. Hero is lovely, gentle, and kind. She falls in love with Claudio when he falls for her, but when Don John slanders her and Claudio rashly rakes revenge, she suffers terribly.


Claudio: A young soldier who has won great acclaim fighting under Don Pedro during the recent wars. Claudio falls in love with Hero upon his return to Messina. His unfortunately suspicious nature make him quick to believe evil rumors and hasty to despair and take revenge.


Benedick: An aristocratic soldier who has recently been fighting under Don Pedro, and a friend of Don Pedro and Claudio. Benedick is very witty, always making jokes and puns. He carries on a “merry war” of wits with Beatrice, but at the beginning swears he will never fall in love or marry.


Don Pedro: An important nobleman from Aragon, sometimes referred to as “Prince.” Don Pedro is a longtime friend of Leonato, Hero’s father, and is also close to the soldiers who have been fighting under him—the younger Benedick and the very young Claudio. Don Pedro is generous, courteous, intelligent, and loving to his friends, but he is also quick to believe evil of others and hasty to take revenge. He is the most politically and socially powerful character in the play.


Don John: The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro. Don John is melancholy and sullen by nature, and he creates a dark scheme to ruin the happiness of Hero and Claudio. He is the villain; his evil actions are motivated by his envy of his brother’s social authority.


Dogberry: The constable in charge of the Watch, or chief policeman, of Messina. Dogberry is very sincere and takes his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning. Dogberry is one of the few middle class characters, though his desire to speak formally and elaborately like the noblemen becomes an occasion for parody.


Margaret: Hero’s serving woman, who unwittingly helps deceive Claudio into thinking that Hero is unfaithful. Margaret is lower class. Though she is honest, she does have some dealings with the villainous world of Don John.


You should take notes as you view the film. You will need these notes to study for the quizzes and essays. After each act, we will review as a class together, but you will only get out of this what you put into it. Write down questions that you need answered as well. I am NOT going to feed this to you.

Here are things I would take notes about in each act:

•How do the characters treat each other?

•How do the characters feel about marriage?

•What kind of deception is being planned and executed? By whom? To whom? Why? Is it for good or bad? (These will help prepare for the essay on quiz.)

•How are men and women treated differently?

•What do you think is the message of the act? WARNING: If you are absent for any part of this film, you may come in after school the following day to make it up. See board for schedule. Otherwise, you are on your own.

Welcome back, again!

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